Mechanical nail polish applier



Dec. 20, 1966 R. J. DEL VECCHIO 3,292,542

MECHANICAL NAIL POLISH APPLIER Filed Jan. 21, 1964 fill/f/fl/I/ INVENTOR. ROBERT J.'DEL VECCHIO ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,292,642 MECHANICAL NAIL POLISH APPLIER Robert J. De] Vecchio, 75 Balsam Lane,

Levittown, N.Y. 11756 Filed Jan. 21, 1964, Ser. No. 339,143 8 Claims. (Cl. 132--73.6)

This invention relates to a cosmetic appliance, and more particularly to an apparatus for applying polish or enamel to the finger or toe nails. The practice of applying polish or enamel to finger nails is almost universally prevalent amongst women and is practiced also by many men. Such polish or enamel [must be carefully applied by hand by means of a brush or other applicator, and it is extremeily difiicult for a person who is normally either right or left handed to apply the polish to both hands. Generally the person desiring to have the polish or enamel applied to his or her nails requires assistance from someone else, usually a manicurist in a beauty parlor or barber sho If is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an apparatus which may be operated by an individual to apply enamel or polish to the individuals finger nails and, if desired, toe nails.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such an appliance which may be driven by a motor mechanism.

It is also a further object of this invention to provide a novel applicator brush and reservoir for enamel or polish which may be attached as a unit to the motor mechanism.

It is also an object of this invention to provide such an appliance which will have an adjustable template to define the area to which the polish or enamel is to be aplied. P Further objects and advantages will appear in the specification hereinbelow. These objects are achieved with the appliance or device illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the device with parts in phantom and parts cut away;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along the lines 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a detail of parts of the device as seen in FIG. 2 with some parts in section, and including the representation of an end of a finger including a finger nail in position to have polish or enamel applied;

FIG. 4 is a section along the lines 44 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a detail of the adjustable template construction in perspective;

FIG. 6 is a detail showing a cross section of an alternate form of drive shaft and reservoir wheel hub having keying means; and

FIG. 7 is an exploded view, partly in section and partly in plan, showing a pin in position to puncture the diaphragm closure means.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The device comprises a main frame or baseboard 10 on which the various parts may be mounted. If desired, the device may comprise an optional housing 12 comprising a top 14, a rear wall 16, side walls 18 and- 20, and a front wall 22 with the frame or baseboard serving as the platform or bottom of the device. It is preferred to have one of the side walls, such as side wall 18, in the form of a cover as indicated at reference numeral 23 in FIG. 1.

The cover 23 may be removed to lift side wall 18 oil the device for purposes of getting at the mechanism to change parts as wil be described hereinbelow.

Instead of being in the form of a cover 23, the side wall 18 may be hinged or attached by any other means, or may be a solid wall having a suitable opening for getting at the internal mechanism.

The optional housing 12 may be made of plastic or metal, or plywood, or any other suitable housing material, and it may be given any suitable form or design for esthetic purposes; for example, instead of having a top and bottom and four walls, it may be in the form of a cylinder or a spherical shape, or in any other pleasing configuration.

The housing 12 has a finger opening 24 to permit the user of the device to insert a finger or perhaps a toe into the device for purposes of receiving enamel or polish. Mounted on the baseboard 10, I have provided a motor 26 on motor bracket means 28 having a motor shaft 30 in a position substantially parallel to the baseboard and to the front side wall. In other words, assuming that an imaginary axis were drawn from the finger opening 24 toward the rear of the device, the axis of rotation of the shaft 30 would be transverse to the said imaginary axis across the baseboard.

There is a pad 32 which serves as a finger rest and spacer, and may be made of any comfort-able resilient material such as sponge rubber or plastic or felt, or any other suitable material for a spacer and finger rest.

Behind the finger opening 24 and beneath the shaft 30, there is an adjustable template assembly 34 comprising a fixed bracket 36 which is fastened to the baseboard 10 by meansof bolts, screws or fasteners 38, a lateral sliding bracket 49 which is slidably fastened to the baseboard 19 by means of bolts, screws or other fasteners 42 adapted to ride in slots 44 in the bracket 40. The adjustable template assembly also comprises template means 46 and 48 which are adapted to be in overlying relationship with each other, and are fitted to the brackets 40 and 36 respectively by means of slots 50 and 52 and bolts, rivets or other fasteners 54 and 56 which are fixed to the template means 46 and 48 and slida-bly mounted through theslots 50 and 52.

It will be noted that each part of the template means has a half nail configuration designated as 58 and 60 respectively. It will also be noted that the template means 46 and 48 may be moved up and down in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 5 of the drawings to permit the insertion of fingers having different widths or thicknesses.

The template means 46 may be moved laterally in the direction of double headed arrow B when bracket 40 slides laterally in the direction of double headed arrow C. Template means 48 will remain stationary. Thus, when bracket 40 and template means 46 are moved to the left,

" the measurement between half nail configurations 58 and 60 increases, and when the said bracket 40 and template means 46 are moved to the right, the measurement be tween the half nail configurations 58 and 60 decreases. Thus, nails having different widths may be accommodated in the adjustable template assembly or means 34.

The polishing or enameling portion of the device comprises a reservoir wheel having a circular supply chamber 72, a hub 74, an opening 76, a removable polish applicator such as a brush attachment 78 having a hollow stem 80, and polish applying means such as bristles 82. The

hub 74 may have substantially the same internal diameter as the outside diameter of'the shaft 30 so that it may be removed, wedged or friction fitted to the shaft. Other methods of fitting supply reservoir wheel 70 to the shaft 30 may be employed. For example, provision may be made on the end of the shaft for a removable flange or nut (not shown) which would retain the supply wheel 70 in place. A shaft 30a as illustrated in FIG. 6 of the drawings could be provided having keying means such as a key 71 adapted to fit intoa slot 73 within a hub 74a as another alternate means of providing that the wheel will rotate with the shaft. Any other suitable means of making such provision may be used.

A supply of polish or enamel is placed within the circular supply chamber 72 of the reservoir wheel 70 through the opening 76. A removable brush 78 is then pressed into the opening to effect a closure. The cover 23 is removed from the device, and the reservoir wheel 70 is placed on the shaft as aforesaid. The device is now ready for operation. I

In the form of device shown, the motor 26 is an electric motor, and receives its power from the usual current source such as an A.C. line in a building through a plug 92 having wires 94 and 96 which are connected to the motor. It is preferable to have one of the wires, such as wire 96, connected to the motor through a switch 98 and another wire or conductor 100.

It is to be understood that the device may also be operated with a battery power supply which is self contained within the housing. In such case the motor 26 would be adapted to be run on battery power rather than on the current from a power supply line. The wires, such as wires 94 and 96, would be connected directly to a battery (not shown) rather than to the power supply line, and in all respects the device would operate in the same manner as if the power supply had been from the A.C. line.

In order to operate the device, the cover 23 is replaced, a finger 102 is inserted through the finger opening 24 and between the pad 32 and the half nail configurations 58 and 60 of the template means 34. The template means 34 will be adjusted in the direction of double headed arrow A by means of the insertion of the finger 102 since force of gravity will keep it at lowermost position and the upward pressure of the finger will raise it to the proper height for the finger. The lateral adjustment could either be made manually along double headed arrows B and C, or by means of a pressure spring designated at reference numeral 104 which would be seated at one end on the baseboard and at the other end on bracket 40. This would normally urge bracket 40 to the right. Insertion of the finger would provide pressure on bracket 40 to the left and make for the proper adjustment of the half nail configurations 58 and 60 to the proper dimension for the inserted finger 102.

At this point the switch 98 is pressed, current will flow through the motor 26, and the drive shaft 30 will be actuated to revolve in the direction of arrows shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings. It will be seen that for each revolution'of the motor, the wheel 70 will revolve and the bristles 82 of the brush 78 will provide a longitudinal stroke along the nail 106. It will require but a few revolutions of the wheel to complete enameling or polishing the nail 106. The operation is repeated for each finger nail or toe nail desired to be enameled or polished, and while the next succeeding finger nail is enameled or polished, the preceding one is already drying. It will be appreciated that the action necessary to press the motor switch will not interfere with the drying of any nail that has already been polished or enameled since the simple action of pressing the button with the bottom part of the finger tip will not affect the nail 106 to mar the polish, even if it is still wet.

It is to be understood that each device made in accordance'with the invention may be supplied together with several removable reservoir wheels 70, each filled with enamel or polish 108 which may be of different types and shades. After using a particular reservoir wheel 70, the polish or enamel may dry on the bristles of the brush rendering the particular brush 78 inoperative for future use. However, this will effectively serve as a closure for the balance of the polish 108 in the circular supply chamber 72. In order to use the same reservoir wheel again, it

is only necessary to remove the removable brush 78 from the opening 76 in the same manner as one would remove a stopper from a bottle, and insert a new and clean brush 78 having an unrestricted passage 80. It is also contemplated that the entire reservoir wheel and brush 78 may be discarded after a given application of a set of nails.

An additional closure means, such as a diaphragm means, may be installed in the hollow stem 80 of the applicator means, such as the brush attachment 7-8. This diaphragm means may be placed within hollow stem 80 at the point indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 4 of the drawings. The diaphragm means 110 would be a solid partition within the applicator means which would effectively prevent any flow of liquid in either direction. It may be made of a thin membrane of plastic or other material which could be easily punctured 'by the point of a plain pin so that liquid could flow through the applicator means 78. Such a pin 112,. as shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings, would be small enough to pass through the bristles to contact and puncture the diaphragm means 110 without injuring the bristles 82.

I have described the applicator means herein as a hollow handled brush 78. However, it may be any hollow handled means adapted to apply polish or enamel.

While I have described my invention in its preferred forms, there are other forms which it may take without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and I, therefore, desire to be protected for all forms coming within the claims hereinbelow.

Wherefore Iclaim:

1. A power operatedvnail polish applicator for use in manicuring ones nails comprising, a support frame comprising a platform, power means embodying a rotary drive shaft suitably mounted on said frame and spaced above said platform, a reservoir wheel having a central hub and a fluid supply reservoir mounted on said drive shaft, a

template means mounted on said platform and spaced applicator having a hollow handle with polish applying means located at one end fitted into said outlet opening with said polish applying means projecting outwardly therefrom, said hollow handle forming a conduit from the supply reservoir to the polish applying means to permit fluid to flow to said polish applying means, and said polish applicator having its polish applying means spaced at' a proper distance from the drive shaft to enable said polish applicator to intersect the U-shaped cutout of the template means at least once during each revolution of said reservoir wheel.

2. The device as described in claim 1, in which the said reservoir wheel is remova-bly mounted on the said rotary drive shaft.

3. The device as described in claim 2, in which the reservoir wheel comprises a central hub including keying means adapted to match keying means on the shaft for which it is adapted to be remova'bly mounted.

4. The device as described in claim 1 wherein said frame comprises a box-like housing having an opening in front of the said template means.

5. The device as described in claim 1, in which the said polish applicator is a hollow handled brush, and the said polish applying means are bristles.

6. The device as described in claim 1, in which the power means is an electric motor connected to a source of electricity by conductors having at least one switch to selectively open and close the circuit.

7. The device as described in claim 1, in which the said template means is adjustable laterally and vertically.

8. The device as described in claim 1, in which said hollow handled polish applicator has internal diaphragm means adapted to act as a closure and which may be punctured to permit flow of liquid through the said applicator means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Genmany.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

R. L. FRINKS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A POWER OPERATED NAIL POLISH APPLICATOR FOR USE IN MANICURING ONE''S NAILS COMPRISING, A SUPPORT FRAME COMPRISING A PLATFORM, POWER MEANS EMBODYING A ROTARY DRIVE SHAFT SUITABLY MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME AND SPACED ABOVE SAID PLATFORM, A RESERVOIR WHEEL HAVING A CENTRAL HUB AND A FLUID SUPPLY RESERVOIR MOUNTED ON SAID DRIVE SHAFT, A TEMPLATE MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID PLATFORM AND SPACED BELOW SAID DRIVE SHAFT BEING LOCATED IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID DRIVE SHAFT AND HAVING A GENERALLY U-SHAPED CUTOUT PORTION WITH THE CENTER OF SAID CUTOUT PORTION SUBSTANTIALLY TRANSVERSE TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID DRIVE SHAFT, SAID RESERVOIR WHEEL COMPRISING A PERIPHERAL OUTLET OPENING COMMUNICATING WITH SAID FLUID RESERVOIR EXTENDING ALONG ONLY A PORTION OF THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF SAID WHEEL, A POLISH APPLICATOR HAVING A HOLLOW HANDLE WITH POLISH APPLYING MEANS LOCATED AT ONE END FITTED INTO SAID OUTLET OPENING WITH SAID POLISH APPLYING MEANS PROJECTING OUTWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID HOLLOW HANDLE FORMING A CONDUIT FROM THE SUPPLY RESERVOIR TO THE POLISH APPLYING MEANS TO PERMIT FLUID TO FLOW TO SAID POLISH APPLYING MEANS, AND SAID POLISH APPLICATOR HAVING ITS POLISH APPLYING MEANS SPACED AT A PROPER DISTANCE FROM THE DRIVE SHAFT TO ENABLE SAID POLISH APPLICATOR TO INTERSECT THE U-SHAPED CUTOUT OF THE TEMPLATE MEANS AT LEAST ONCE DURING EACH REVOLUTION OF SAID RESERVOIR WHEEL. 